Did you just get a pie maker and want to know how to use a pie maker and learn the best beginner friendly pie maker recipes? Then this blog post today is dedicated to you.
I am letting you watch over our shoulders, as the chef hubby and I test out our Breville Pie Maker and share with you our tips, tricks and easy pie maker recipes.
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Pie Makers
Confession my mum gave me a pie maker she didn’t like much a few years ago. It went in our outbuilding that was full of junk and we never got around to using it or seeing what all the fuss was about.
Fast forward about 3-4 years and here I am talking to you about pie makers.
I bought a Breville pie maker from a Facebook Group last year and it was my plan to see what all the fuss was with pie makers and make some yummy pies with Dominic.
Over Christmas, we made 5 different yummy pie maker recipes (more on those below) and we learnt a lot of tips and tricks along the way and thought it would be useful to share all our pie maker info with you, as you embrace your new pie maker.
Breville Pie Maker
Note that we are using a second hand Breville Pie Maker. We picked it up for JUST £5 from a Facebook Group and the lady selling it was only about 2 streets away from where I live.
It is a 2 pie maker, not a 4 like many I see. But I have noticed that there is not much difference brand to brand. So, if you don’t have a Breville Pie Maker, then your other brand will work just as good.
Electric Pie Maker
My first impressions of my cheap pie maker are that it reminds me in quality to the toastie machines that I would love. The same sturdy material, but I am still not sure if this pie maker is going to be any good or not.
After all, I love my air fryer pies and I love making instant pot pie fillings and not sure if this is for me.
For our first ever go with our pie maker we made pie maker quiches. The quiche was AMAZING and I couldn’t believe how delicious the quiches were and how quick they cooked in the pie maker.
I then looked down at the pie maker afterwards and the mess left behind and realised how it is to clean compared to any other way for making homemade pies.
Another 4 different pie maker recipes followed (on the same day) and now I just can’t stop using the cheapest kitchen gadget I have ever owned.
Pie Maker Recipes
But I am sure what you really want to know, is what pie maker recipes we made and which pie maker recipes we would recommend you try first.
Well, during that day over Christmas, we made the following pie maker recipes:
Pie Maker Quiche – The beauty of the pie maker quiche is that you can use whatever your favourite fillings are. We used cheese and tomato as that is how I love my quiche. But you could do cheese and bacon, cheese and ham, mushroom etc.
Pie Maker Meat Pie – This was our favourite out of the different recipes for the pie maker. We made the filling first in the instant pot, then loaded it into pies. Best of all, you could swap the classic meat pie filling and use other meats. Or use it for your leftovers.
Pie Maker Chicken Pie – This was the fastest for making the filling from scratch to getting it in the pie maker. We used the air fryer to cook the boneless and skinless chicken thighs and then chopped them into chunks. Adding cream cheese and a few extras made them the best mini chicken pies ever.
Pie Maker Veggie Pie – The veggie pie was made from leftover veggies. Next time you have veggies that need using up, then these pie maker vegetarian pies are ideal.
Pie Maker Apple Pies – For a sweet treat we made some pie maker apple pies. They were amazing and so easy to make. You could also do the same with other fruits too.
Plus, best of all, with these pie maker recipes above they are a fantastic base for pies. You can then keep the cook times and concept and then mix and match with your own favourite ingredients.
Pie Maker Pastry
Now that you have our Breville Pie Maker Recipes, lets talk about the first process in making pies in your pie maker, and that is the pie maker pastry.
You are probably wondering what is the best pastry to use in the pie maker and the answer is A BIT OF BOTH.
For the ultimate best results of pie maker pies is to have a shortcrust pastry bottom and then having a puff pastry lid.
This means that you just make one dough ball of our pie crust and this is enough for loads of pies in the pie maker.
Then you also grab a sheet of puff pastry, allow to go to room temperature and then roll it out. Then that puff pastry is perfect for the lids.
Pie Maker Recipes Without Pastry
Another option is to make pie maker recipes without pastry. You would simply swap the pastry for tortilla wraps.
Any tortilla wrap will work well in the pie maker, though I love Weight Watchers wraps, plus they are much lower in calories so its perfect for enjoying a low calorie version of your favourite pie.
Though like with making regular pastry you will need to cut the tortilla wraps to size:
And then as you can see below, Chef Dom is demonstrating how they are placed in the pie maker, in a similar way to a regular pie crust.
Pie Fillings For Pie Maker
Once you have chosen your crust, whether it is pastry or wraps, its time to think about the pie filling for your pie maker.
You can do whatever you would put in a regular pie, but of course you are making much smaller pie maker pies.
I am sure you want to make easy pie maker pies, so start first with the fillings you can make fast, use leftovers, or make a bucket list of pies.
Think about all your favourite pies and put together a list and then plan to make the fillings.
If you need just 4 pies for dinner, then why not make 8 and then you can freeze the other 4 for next time you are cooking?
Or next time you have our air fryer leg of lamb or our air fryer pork roast, save some with some of the roast dinner veggies, toss in cream cheese and you have a pie filling.
Another option is to think about those leftover pasties you usually make and then make leftover pies instead.
I also recommend making the pie filling the day before the pies, and then you are not waiting for it to cool so that you can make your pies.
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How To Use A Pie Maker?
I have shared the best pie maker recipes, pie maker pastry, pie maker recipes without pastry and pie fillings.
Now I want to put everything together to show you how to use a pie maker and make your first batches of mini pies.
Firstly, not everyone has the same sized pie maker, so hold some cookie cutters over your pie maker to see what size you need to use.
You will need bigger for the bottom than the top and experiment with it, until you have the perfect size. If you get it wrong, don’t worry as you could simply re-roll the pastry.
Then press down the bottom layer of the pastry:
Though when you do this make sure it is not turned on as you don’t want the mini pies to start cooking before you have the filling and the lid added.
The pastry will then look like this and will be ready for its filling:
You can then add your filling to your pastry and don’t overfill it:
This is then followed by placing the puff pastry lid on top and then sealing it around the sides and then you can press the edges with a fork for a professional looking mini pie.
Then use some scissors to snip the top of the pie so that it can breathe and cook through in your pie maker.
Your pie is now ready to go and it’s a simple step of plugging in the pie maker, placing the lid down and cooking your pies.
And I am sure you can see now how easy it is to make pie maker pies.
Pie Maker Tips & Tricks
Before you get your pie maker out and start making recipes for your pie maker, here is a quick summary of some of our top tips and tricks we have mentioned in this post.
- Always fill the pie maker to ¾ full. Otherwise, you will end up with the filling coming out and making a lot of mess.
- Experiment with the cookie cutters you have and then find your ideal one that you can use for the perfect pie. We tried about four until we found our perfect one.
- Any brand of pie maker will work well. We have Breville but there are so many to choose from.
- Always snip with a pair of scissors at the top of your pie lid. This will help your pies breathe and cook through during the cooking process.
- Pie makers get very hot, don’t allow children to touch it after use.
- Because pie makers get hot so fast, don’t turn them on until you have added your pie and are ready to cook.
And before you go don’t forget to grab our easy pie maker recipes:
- Pie Maker Quiche
- Pie Maker Meat Pies
- Pie Maker Chicken Pies
- Pie Maker Veggie Pies
- Pie Maker Apple Pies
Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!
